Brushes generally include a brush body that includes a handle portion and a head portion, and tufts of bristles attached to the brush body at or near the head portion. A toothbrush is a particular type of brush that has a head portion adapted for use within the oral cavity to remove food residues and plaque from tooth surfaces, the gums and the gingiva.
Toothbrush bodies usually are made with injection molding machines. Toothbrush bodies often consist of plastic or other polymeric materials, and frequently include multiple components. The different components may differ in nature, color, texture, density, and hardness. For example, toothbrush bodies may include a relatively hard plastic base component and a colored, compliant rubber gripping component.
The bristles of the toothbrush are made from filaments. Polymeric materials, such as nylon, commonly are used in fabricating the bristle filaments. In some toothbrush manufacturing processes, filaments are provided in the form of a hank that is circular in cross section, has a length ranging from a few centimeters to several meters, and includes a band around its circumference. The band holds the filaments together.
Prior to incorporation into the toothbrush, the hanks, and thus the filaments, are cut to a length of a few centimeters. The band is subsequently removed and one end of the filaments is fused to form a bristle tuft. Prior to fusing, the short filaments can be difficult to handle, particularly when subjected to additional processing steps. Even after fusing to form a bristle tuft, the tufts can be difficult to handle in various processes used to round bristle ends or to attach the bristle tufts to the brush head.